Footwear with provision to change the air therein



K. KAJTAR Oct. 11, 1955 FOOTWEAR WITH PROVISION TO CHANGE THE AIR THEREIN Filed March 31, 1953 w .3 Km 5 ,nrmey United States Patent FOOTWEAR WITH PROVISION TO CHANGE THE AIR THEREIN Kalman Kajtar, New York, N. Y.

Application March 31, 1953, Serial No. 345,857

1 Claim. (Cl. 36-3) The present invention relates to shoes and more particularly to ventilated shoes.

Heretofore, a ventilated shoe offered air ducts or passages to the sole of the wearers foot. The air in such passages, was air at rest.

It is the principal object of this invention to provide a novel and improved ventilated shoe where the ventilating air is air in motion, so that the air through the shoe is actually changing by a positive action thereon.

Another object hereof is to provide a ventilated shoe of novel and improved construction which is reasonably cheap to manufacture and efficient in carrying out the purposes for which it is designed.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent as this disclosure proceeds.

In the accompanying drawings forming part of this specification, similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the views. Fig. l is a perspective view of shoe embodying the teachings of this invention. Some parts are torn away to show the construction and the shoes upper is shown in phantom.

Fig. 2 is a section taken at line 22 in Fig. 1, slightly enlarged.

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of a conical spring of the type I prefer to use in this embodiment; a front view of such spring being shown included in Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of an outer sole of modified construction, drawn to a reduced scale.

Fig. 5 is a section taken at lines 55 in Fig. 4 with mid sole on.

In the drawings, the numeral 15 designates generally a shoe having the outsole 16, the mid sole 17, the insole 18 and the upper denoted generally as 19. The upper surface of the outsole 16 has a plurality of channels 20 thereacross from side to side and also a plurality of wells 21 which are communicative with some of said channels; said wells being inward of the margins of said outsole. To lend depth to said wells, those portions 23 of the outsole which serve as the floor of said wells, without increase in thickness, bulge downwardly from the bottom surface of such outsole. In the assembled shoe, such wells serve as air chambers which are made to collapse by the Weight of the wearer while walking upon touching the ground at each step taken by the wearer. Such chambers extend while the foot the shoe is on, is off the ground. The action is akin to that of a bellows or the bulb of a syringe. Air in these chambers is always changing while the wearer is walking and hence the air within the shoe is in motion and not at rest while the air in said air chambers is being squeezed out and new air let in. Of course, the mid sole 17 has perforations 17' communicative with the channels 20, but not in those regions covering the wells while the insole is provided with small perforations all over which are communicative with the perforations in the mid sole. It is preferred to have a conical compression spring 22 within each of the wells; each such spring acting between the floor of the well it is in and the mid sole and being of the type that it is spiral form when flattened.

If desired, a check valve can be attained by means of flap 14.

As a modified construction, instead of having a plurality of collapsible air chambers, the entire outsole 24 may be dished as shown in Fig. 4, so that in the finished shoe, when the mid sole 25 is on said outsole 24, one comparatively large air chamber 26 is formed, which becomes collapsed when the foot such shoe is on, is on the ground, and extended when said foot is raised in walking. The marginal wall 27 of such dished outsole 24 is provided with a plurality of perforations 27' so that bellows action is attained.

In both constructions described, it is evident that while the wearer is walking, air through the shoe is in motion. If desired, spring means urging the outsole 24 and its mid sole 25 apart, may be mounted within the chamber 26 and to increase the volume of such chamber, the outsole 24 may be sagged as indicated at 23 for the wells 21.

In each instance the mid sole is of a relatively stiff material, while the outsole is of a comparatively softer material to permit the collapse and extension of the chambers formed. For instance the mid soles may be of a stiif leather and the outsoles of a soft rubber or other suitable material. Or, both outsoles and mid soles may be of a yieldable leather of proper quality to permit the accomplishment of bellows action and yet be of no discomfort to the wearer.

I have thus provided an article of footwear in which the air around the shod leg portion is never stagnant while the wearer is walking.

This invention is capable of numerous forms and various applications without departing from the essential features herein disclosed and may be applied in any soled footwear. It is therefore intended and desired that the embodiments herein shall be deemed illustrative and not restrictive and that the patent shall cover all patentable novelty herein set forth; reference being bad to the following claim rather than to the specific description herein to indicate the scope of this invention.

I claim:

In an article of footwear, a sole structure formed with a plurality of spaced bulges extending downwardly from its undersurface and an upper structure mounted on the sole structure; said sole structure having an air chamber therein extending into each of said downward bulges and passages from said chamber to the interior of the upper structure and to the exterior air; the material of the bulged portions of the sole structure having resilient quality whereby said air chamber will collapse and said bulges will flatten when pressure is applied to the upper surface of the sole structure and same will extend when freed of such pressure.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 819,449 Otterstedt May 1, 1906 904,891 Otterstedt Nov. 24, 1908 964,482 Bernat et al July 19, 1910 1,144,188 Gerlach June 22, 1915 1,380,879 Young June 7, 1921 1,870,114 Heller Aug. 2, 1932 1,932,557 Meucci Oct. 31, 1933 2,239,211 Wylie Apr. 22, 1941 2,457,944 Vlastos Jan. 4, 1949 2,558,973 Meaker July 3, 1951 

